Hi Devoted Readers,
I have exciting news.
YOU ARE INVITED: Back to One: Take 6 Director’s Cut is having a pre-launch party on Saturday, Oct 3 at Cat’n Bird Winery in Chelsea, AL, from 12-4. Early copies will be available.
Below’s newsletter is a real treat!
Let’s have some fun as you attend a movie premiere!
Cheers,
Antonia
P.S. Please let me know if you are enjoying these newsletters. Thx
Director’s Cut:
Letter From the Editing Room
The editing room has always been my favorite place in filmmaking. It’s where scattered scenes suddenly discover their purpose, where small moments become unforgettable, and where a story finally reveals what it was trying to say all along.
From an actor’s point of view, it is where unforgettable portrayals come to life, and Oscar-winning performances take shape. It is also the last vestige of a bit player. My father, who was a character actor, claimed his best scenes often lay dying on the cutting room floor.
Director’s Cut began with four movie scripts, each written for a particular novel: Ambient Light, Cinema Verite, Slating Magic Hour, and Hero Shot.
Each one changed Cate and Kyle in ways I hadn’t fully understood until I laid them side by side.
Movies don’t just entertain us—they quietly change who we become.
Have you ever walked out of a movie theater just a little different from when you walked in?
Some films make us braver.
Some teach forgiveness.
Some help us heal.
Some remind us who we wanted to be.
That’s exactly why I wrote Director’s Cut. To live alongside Cate and Kyle in a world that may seem glamorous but, in reality, can be smarmy and manipulative. By including the scripts they perform in each novel, the experience is complete.
From the Cutting Room Floor
The four playscripts (my term for an easier-to-read version of a screenplay) had some interesting history.
For example, Wonderwall was originally called “Three Peas.” I decided that, since the first two playscripts came from song titles … Way Down from Kaleo’s Way Down We Go and Dangerous Type by The Cars, it was more fitting to rename “Three Peas” after Oasis’ Wonderwall.
Of course, the haunting sounds of social unrest in Red Rider’s Lunatic Fringe encapsulated its title, and the story was actually built around that manic feel.
Insider Tidbits
Tasia wasn’t originally supposed to become one of my favorite film characters. She was a vehicle for Cate to reveal a different side of herself. But Tasia simply refuses to leave. She intrigued me as the author, and from what my readers say, she has won their hearts as well.
Lunatic Fringe lost a wonderful supporting character I absolutely loved—Tasia and O’Malley’s adopted daughter, Francesca. Unfortunately, she complicated the story way too much. But I miss that precious five-year-old.
The Premiere
So, let’s have some fun with Director’s Cut and its four screenplays, giving it a true Hollywood spectacular feel.
Imagine you’ve been invited to the world premiere of Dangerous Type, the second installment in the Tasia and O’Malley franchise, directed by its star, Kyle Weston. It co-stars his beautiful wife, Catherine Leigh.
Your limo pulls up to Grauman’s Chinese Theater’s red carpet, and you join Cate, dressed in a sequined gown, and Kyle, in black tie, for a rather formal event.
As you enter the theater, you overhear critics whispering that the heroine may be braver than the people chasing her. The screen illuminates, and you watch the action thriller with bated breath.
Then comes the audience advisory, which makes you laugh.
Audience Advisory
“Side effects of Dangerous Type may include unexpected reflection, lingering conversations after the credits, and an irresistible urge to hear one particular classic song from the soundtrack on the drive home.”
When you exit the theater after an exciting two hours munching on popcorn, you are approached by a reporter who wishes to get your reaction to the film.
Reporter: “So, I have heard, Dangerous Type is a stylish espionage thriller, isn’t it?”
You: It is—but that’s only the surface. That’s what gets you in the door.
Reporter: And what keeps you there?
You: The heart of it. Beneath the intrigue, beneath the mob complication, it’s a story about courage, redemption, and finding your way back to who you really are. The espionage story is just the vehicle.
Reporter: That’s a perspective I wasn’t expecting.
On the way home from the event, you scroll through your cell phone and come across several reviews of the book.
MOVIE INQUIRY
Director’s Cut has become one of the most anticipated projects in the Back to One Universe.
ENTERTAINMENT BANTER
Fans have waited years to see the legendary screenplays collected in one volume.
BUZZ on the BIZ
One of the year’s most unusual releases…
It was a wonderful evening and an experience you won’t soon forget.
From the Sound Studio
Before I head back into the recording booth, I wanted to share a few happy milestones from the past several months.
· Slating Magic Hour (BTO: Take 4) was honored by CIBA as a finalist in the 2025 Chatelaine Romance Fiction Award Category.
· The audiobook of Ambient Light recently received a five-star Best Book Award and is available wherever audiobooks are sold. Here's the link to the Ambient Light audiobook review.
· And after many months in production, Back to One: Take 6 Director’s Cut arrives October 6th. If you are coming to or are in Alabama, please join me for a pre-launch gathering at Cat-n-Bird Winery in Chelsea on Saturday, October 3, from 12-4. I’d love to say hello.
Thank you for your heartwarming and kind words. I’ve fallen in love with my main characters, Cate and Kyle, too. From the beginning, I wanted to see where their journey would lead.
All novels in the Series are available in paperback and eBook (Kindle) formats.
Back to One & Back to One: Take 2 Ambient Light
Audiobooks Both Win Best Book Award!
See my author profile on Amazon.
Beginning October 1st :
Please visit the completely redesigned and interactive …
Back to One website: https://antoniagavrihel.com
where you can sail into the World of Back to One and experience the adventure, including reading past issues of this newsletter and keeping up to date on Back to One releases and events. There is a music room where you can listen to each novel’s “soundtrack”, interviews, podcasts, expanded character descriptions and story lines, and so much more ... Truly a fun experience!
Until the next BTO World issue …
Antonia Gavrihel
I really enjoy the backstage updates about my favorite book series. Thanks, Antonia!